Fascia construction



Sept. 17, 1957 K. A. KLENZ,

FASCIA CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 13, 1955 I I3 IL A TTOAA/EYS S p 7, 1957 K. A. KLENZ 2,806,524

FASCIA CONSTRUCTION Filed June 13, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 F'IE E INVENTOR. .iVar/ 14. M/gnz United States Patent 2,806,524 7 FASCIA CONSTRUCTION I 7 Karl A. Klenz, San Anselmo, Cnlili, assignor to Lando Products, Inc, Sausalito, Calif a corperation ofCalifornia Application June 13, 1955, Serial No. 514,858

4 Claims. Cl. 16034) This invention relates to fasciae construction and particularly to fasciae constructions of the type which are adapted to be attached to a typical Venetian blind cornice construction.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, a conventional Venetian blind consists of a headrail' construction which is adapted to be tilted about its longitudinal axis from which there is suspended a plurality of ladder tapes upon the rungs of which the Venetian blind slats are positioned and to the lower end of which is secured the bottom rail. On the relatively new vertical Venetian blinds, the conventional head rail is eliminated,.but there is, in the the area vacated thereby, another construction which supports not only the vertical slats but which surrounds or supports the means for rotating the slats.

The tilting head 'rail or the mechanism substituted therefore when vertical Venetian blinds are used, is not particularly attractive to the eye, and, in most cases, detracts from the tailored look imparted by a well designed and installed venetian blind. In order to conceal this mechanism, various cornice constructions have been used and these cornices have been made of wood, metal, or other covering material and have been designed to blend in with the wall or window. Attempts have been made to make the cornice construction and its fascia as inconspicuous as possible or to take full advantage of whatever slight decorating possibilities the same will ofler.

It is an object of this invention to provide a fascia construction for a typical cornice of this type which blends with the Venetian blind slats which are utilized in the construction of the blind.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a fascia construction of this kind which may be formed for the most part from Venetian blind slat stock which may be of same or of different color and pattern than the Venetian blind slats.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a fascia construction which may be simply assembled and installed by a Venetian blind manufacturer or supplier and which will permit the elimination of expensive cabinet work.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will appear from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a conventional Venetian blind construction shown in my fascia construction and a Venetian blind in which the slats are mounted horizontally.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 22 of Figure 1 showing the various elements of my fascia construction and one bracket by which the same may be secured to a cornice.

Figure 3 represents a front view of the bracket illustrated in Figure 2 with the fasciae removed therefrom.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 44 of Figure l; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail showing the ultimate position of the adjacent side edges of the components of the fasciae.

2,806,524 Patented Sept. 17, 1957 ICE. 7

Figure 6 represents a front view of another type of Venetian blind construction.

, Figure 7 represents a cross-sectional detail taken along the line 7-7 of Figure 6 showing another type of bracket'which may be utilized to support my fasciae.

Figure 8 is a front view of the bracket shown in Figure 7 with the fasciae elements removed.

Figure 9' is a top view of an inside cornerconstruction showing how my fasciae and the brackets illustrated in Figures 2 and 7, for example, may be utilized in such an interior corner construction.

As illustrated in Figuresl and 5, and as has been previously explained herein, a Venetian blind consists of a plurality of slats 10 which are supported by ladder tapes 11. A bottom rail 12 is secured to the lower end of the tapes 11 and, the upper endsof the tapes 11 are secured to suitable headnrails, not shown, whichare pivoted and which are adapted to be actuated by the cords 13, for example. As illustrated in Figure I particularly, the head rail construction andthe tiltmechanism are adaptedrto be concealed by a suitable concealing media which is tional supports 'as will more fully hereinafter, be described.

The fascia ,16 consists essentially of a plurality of identicalmembers 21 which are formed of Venetian blind slat stock. The members 21 may be bent as indicated in Figures 4 and 9 to conform to the demands of the particular installation, i. e., the ends may be turned back toward the wall to provide suitable ends to the fascia construction, or, if Venetian blinds are being installed in a corner window, for example, the fascia 21 may be bent in the other direction, as viewed in Figure 9 to provide an inside corner type of construction.

The members 21 are adapted to be mounted with respect to each other by brackets of the type illustrated in Figures 3 and 8. In Figure 3 the bracket 17 is adapted to accommodate three of the slats 21. The bracket 17 is formed generally as shown, i. e., with curved portions 21a which accommodate themselves generally to the curvature of the slats 21. However, the curved portions 21a are provided with an adhesive area 22 which may be formed in several ways, one of which I have shown as being formed of a strip of material which is tacky on both sides so that when one side is caused to adhere to the portion 21a, another tacky surface will be exposed to be engaged by the slat 21. The curves 21a are not uniform and it will be noted that the upper portion of each curve is offset generally at 23, as indicated particularly at Figure 5, so that the lower edge of one of the members 21 lies within the offset and under the upper edge of the lower member 21. Because of this, it will be apparent that an accurate fit of the adjacent edges of members 21 is unnecessary and that no gaps will occur when the device is viewed from below. In this connection it should be pointed out that the typical fasciae construction is substantially above eye level so that one who views the same will be looking-at it more or less from below and thus it will be apparent that no gap will occur and that the adjacent edges will be as inconspicious as possible.

The bracket 17 is provided with a step portion 24 by which it is adapted to be secured to a horizontal plate 26 which is one standard type of Venetian blind cornice construction. The tilt rail assembly would be found in the general area below the horizontal plate 26 and to the left of the-fascia construction (as illustrated in Figure 2) and would therefore be rendered invisible to a viewer who viewed the same from the right-hand side of Figure 2.

In the construction as illustrated in Figures 6 to 8 inclusive, I provide a similar type of fascia construction but the bracket 18 by which the same is secured to the cornice or support differs substantially. The bracket 18 is provided at its upper end with a looped portion 27 which is adapted to cooperate with a vertical wall portion 28 and to be merely clipped thereover. I r

The bracket 18 is provided with a tacky or adhesive surface and is constructed in the same general manner as illustrated in Figure 5, i. e., in such a manner that Venetian blind stock fasciae may be caused to adhere thereto.

When the fascia construction utilized in my invention is to be installed, the artisan determines from the type of cornice which of the brackets 17 or 18 is to be used. Once the type of bracket has been selected, it is positioned as illustrated generally in Figures 2, 7 or 9 in such a manner that it will support the members 21 at the proper height with respect to the cornice construction and the parts which the fascia is designed to conceal. A sufiicient number of brackets 17 or 18 are positioned along the cornice to support the fasciae members 21. The tacky portions 22 are positioned generally as shown. The members 21 are bent, as illustrated in Figures 1, 4, or 6, or as illustrated generally in Figure 9, depending upon the type of construction and installation involved. When this has been accomplished, the members 21 are positioned generally as illustrated in Figures 2 and 7, i. e., with the lower horizontal edge of the upper horizontal member being positioned within the olfset and under the upper horizontal portion of the next member 21.

I claim:

1. In a fascia construction for Venetian blind cornices, a plurality of brackets, each of said brackets being provided with at least one curved surface, a plurality of Venetian blind slats, said slats having a curvature substantially identical to the curvature of the curved surfaces on the brackets, and means for mounting said slats on the brackets so that the lower edge of each upper slat is retained between the upper edge of each lower slat and the brackets, the slats serving to conceal the brackets from view.

2. A fascia construction as in claim 1 wherein means for mounting the slats on the bracket consists of a strip of material having a tacky surface on both sides.

3. In a fascia construction for Venetian blind cornices, a plurality of brackets, each of said brackets being provided with a plurality of horizontal, parallel, convex surfaces, a plurality of Venetian blind slats, the slats having a curvature substantially identical to the curvature of the curved surfaces on the bracket, and means for mounting said slats on the curved surfaces of the brackets so that the lower edge of each upper slat is retained between the upper edge of each lower slat and the bracket, the slats serving to conceal the bracket from View.

4. A fascia construction as in claim 3 wherein the portions of the bracket between the curved surfaces forms a horizontal groove parallel to the curved surfaces, the lower end of each upper slat resting on the bracket adjacent the groove.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,271,847 Stark Feb. 3, 1942 2,604,155 Junkune July 22, 1952 2,638,162 Hertlinger et al. May 12, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 156,577 Australia May 18, 1954 

